Medical appliance



L. A. HALL.

MEDICAL APPLIANCE- APPLICATION FILED AUG- 31 1920.

E/VTOI? WITNESSES LEau/L/ml.

y 7 I XV M Patented. May 23, 1922.

llIEDICAL APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 23, 1922.

Application filed August 13, 1920. Serial No. 403,221.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, LEON AnoLrHUs HALL, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Keene, in the county of Cheshire and State of NewHampshire, have invented a new and Improved Medical Appliance, 031?which the following is a full, clear, and act description.

It is well appreciated that quite a number of the human ailments are tobe attribut ed to the irregular action of the intestines, which producewhat is commonly known as constipation.

With this in view, numerous remedies have been placed upon the marketacting in the nature of a purgative or a regulator for the intestines,and by means of which it has been sought to induce regularity.

Most of these remedies, although oiiering temporary relief, haveresulted in increas ing the sluggishness of the intestines to a pointwhere it has been necessary to resort to the drug in ever increasingquantities to produce the result desired, thus forming a habit.

It is also well understood that, with a view oi? overcoming the defectsof the aforementioned treatment, massaging has quite often been resortedto with extremely benelicial results. However, massage has had to begiven by an expert and where the period 01 treatment extended over alength of time, the cost involved was quite large, in view of the factthat one treatment alone required the application of pressure over arelatively large amount of time.

I have now discovered that massaging, i. e. a movement with pressureover the surface of the intestinal cavity is not essential, but wherepressure is applied with-- out movement for a considerable length, thetreatment varying from one to ten hours a day, that extremely beneficialresults will be produced.

I have therefore invented a medical appliance by means of whichcontinued pressure will be exerted over the sigmoid flexure, thedescending colon, the ascending colon (in both oi which latter a sharpturn exists) and over the caecum where the appendix is situated.

Reference is had to the attached sheet of drawings as illustrating onepractical ein bodiment of my invention and in which,

Figure 1 is a front View of a torso show-- ing my improved medicalappliance associated therewith.

Figure 2 is a front view 01": such appli ance, and

Figure 3 is a sectional side view taken along the lines 01 Figure 2.

My appliance is preferably constructed of a single piece of material ofany desired ype, and includes two half sections which are joinedtogether, each of said halfsections presenting preferably identicalparts for which reason it will only be necessary to describe in detailone of the same.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 2 it will be seen that in thisview 1 have utilized a medical appliance constructed in accordance withmy invention, such appliance being constructed of wire, in this instanceit being noted that the same may be rubber covered as has been indicatedby the reference numeral 5 in Figure 1.

The end portion 6 of the wire is extended in the form of a loop 7 so asto provide a medium whereby the ends of a belt 8 may be attachedthereto. Thence the wire is extended as at 9 to provide a portionsubstantially parallel to the end piece 6 of the wire. From the end ofthis portion the wire is extended upwardly in the form of a curve as at10 so as to conform to the body of a wearer. From the upper end of thecurve portion, the wire is extended inwardly as at 11, and thencedownwardly as at 12, the inner end oil? such downwardly extendingportion lying in a substantially horizontal plane as at 13 to a point atwhich it lies adjacent the smaller portion of the opposite hall section.

The appliance further includes a substantially vertical extendingportion 1i forming a continuation of the horizontal portion 13, theupper end of said vertical por tion being provided with an outwardlyextending part 15 from whence the wire extends downwardly as at 16,terminating in a horizontal por ion 17, which latter portion iscontinued and forms the connection between a smaller half section.

it will now be noted that the appliance aforedescribed is convenientlyretained in applied position by means of the belt 8 and a further belt18, which latter belt has its ends aliixed to the substantially verticaltending portion 14 adjacent the outwardly extending part 15.

The upper portions of the downwardly extending portion 16 and verticalpart 1-1 overlie the stomach and serve to retain a constant pressureupon the same. The body and lower portion of the downwardly ex tendingpart of the wire 16 presses against the smaller intestines. The leftlower side of the appliance overlies the descending colon and sigmoidfiexure, while the right hand lower side of the appliance overlies theascending colon and caecum.

By this construction, it will be appreciated that a constant evenpressure is applied to those parts of the intestine having a tendency tosluggishness, and it has been found by experiment, that by virtue ofthis pressure that the defects enumerated in the preamble'of thisspecification are overcome, the appliance being associated with the bodyof the wearer for that length of time which is found to be mostdesirable to produce benefit and results.

It will be obvious that it is within the scope of my invention to varythe dimensions and arrangements of the parts of the appliance, accordingto the needs of the patient, it being also understood that the same maybe constructed of any desirable material, and in instances where itmight prove desirable, to provide a cushioning agent with the cover 5.

I claim 1. A medical appliance for relieving constipation, saidappliance being adapted to lie against and exert pressure against theintestinal cavity, said appliance including a pair of loop portions, acurved outwardly extending portion forming a continuation of each ofsaid loop portions, and inwardly, downwardly and horizontally extendingportions forming a continuation of each of said curved portions, asubstantially vertical extending portion forming a continuation of saidlatter portion, a downwardly extending portion forming a continuation ofeach of said vertically extending portions, a horizontal portionextending between and connecting the lower ends of each of saiddownwardly extending portions, and means connected to said loopportions, and said vertically extending portions for 'retaining saidappliance in intimate contact with the body to which it is applied.

2. A medical appliance for relieving constipation, said appliance beingadapted to lie against and exert pressure against the intestinal cavity,said appliance including a pair of loop portions, a curved outwardlyextending portion forming a continuation of each of said loop portions,and inwardly, downwardly and horizontally extending portions forming acontinuation of each of said curved portions, a substantially verticalextending portion forming a continuation of said latter portion, adownwardly extending portion forming a continuation of each of saidvertically extending portions, a horizontal portion extending betweenand connecting the lower ends of each of said downwardly extendingportions, means connected to said loop portions and said verticallyextending portions for retaining said appliance in intimate contact withthe body to which it is applied, and outwardly extending parts forming apart of said appliance, and each of said vertically extending portions,said latter outwardly extending part bearing against the retaining meanshaving its ends secured to said vertically extending portions andholding the same against movement.

LEON ADOLPHUS HALL.

